Cleaning apparatus for bowling balls and the like



Jan. 13, 1953 T. A. NEWSWANGER CLEANING APPARATUS FOR BOWLING BALLS AND THE LIKE Filed June 16, 1947 zg/ Qvwe/Mm zizizVzuszyaryez z a 9 1 3 4 l j j v, z fly w Q w NH. 4, A /MWW j a 2 I 2W 1- a j J i W W, a f w M h W 2 w M 1 :H T

Patented Jan. 13, 1953 UNITED fi'i'ATES PATENT ()F F ICE.

CLEANENG APPARATUS FOR BOVILING BALLS AND THE LIKE 11 Claims.

This inventionrelates to cleaning apparatus and is more specificially directed to a machine for cleaning and polishing bowling balls or the like.

After considerable use, it has been found that bowling balls and balls used in similar games pick up'dust, dirt, grease, and the like so that a scum forms on the surface thereof which renders the same difficult to handle and prevents accurate use of the ball in play.

The present machine is designed to provide a simple, inexpensive, and quick means of removing this scum and restoring to the ball its normal high polish.

The machine of the present invention is constructed in such a manner that the balls may be placed within a cabinet and into contact with suitable cleaning and polishing cloths which are moved relative to the ball in such a manner that the ball is caused to revolve slowly during a portion of each cleaning cycle so that constantly changing surfaces or the ball are presented to the cleaning and polishing cloths.

The present invention also contemplates a machine which receives the balls in such 'a manner that the insertion and removal of the same into the cabinet may be done with facility and Without danger of contacting the operating parts of the apparatus which might result in injury to the operator.

Gther objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the following description, it being understood. that there is illus rated the preferred form of my invention and that changes in details of construction, character, and finish of material, may be resorted to so long as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

The following description is to be read in the light of the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, and in Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the present invention will be seen to comprise a substantially rectangular cabinet it provided with a cover ll hinged to the upper edge of the cabinet by means of the hinge l2 and the cover is provided with spaced openings i3 and it of sufficient size to permit insertion and withdrawal of bowling balls or the like as indicated at it and It.

Mounted within the cabinet in is a motor, here indicated as an electric motor, I! carrying'on its shaft l8 and a pulley l9.

Extending transversely of the cabinet ll) at a point spaced above the motor I! is a transverse strut 28 having mounted thereon a bearing 2| for 'a rotating shaft 22 which carries the large pulley 23 in alignment with the motor-driven pulley IS.

A drive belt 24" is trained over the pulleys l9 and 23 and relationship between the pulleys is such that a gear reduction of substantially 10:1 is obtained, although of course any desired selection of ratios may be utilized.

In the upper part of the cabinet l0 'a'cra'dle 25 is mounted for oscillatory movement.

The cradle 25 consists of an elongated, rectangular frame 26 divided intermediate its length by a transverse bar 21 dividing the cradle into 2 compartments, both of which are adapted to receive a ball during the cleaning operation.

The cradle 25 is provided with trunnions 28 projecting laterally from the sides of the frame at points intermediate its length and journalled in bearings 29 and 30 attached to supporting blocks 3| and 32 secured to the interior side walls of the cabinet l9.

Oscillating or rocking motion is imparted to the cradle 25 by means of a connecting rod 35 having one end secured to the pulley 23 as at '35 and its other end pivotally secured to a rocker arm 36 as at 31.

The connecting rod '3 is here illustrated as consisting of a turn-buckle 38 by means ofwhich the length of the connecting rod may be adjusted for purposes hereinafter described. Likewise, the rocker arm 35 is adjust-ably connected to the intermediate strut 21 by the screw-threaded con nection as illustrated in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing it Will be seen that upon actuation of the motor, a rocking or oscillating movement transversely of the cabinet will be im-- parted to the cradle 25.

In order to support the balls during the rocking movement of the cradle, supporting straps 319 and 4B are secured thereto and festoon from the frame of the cradle.

Although only two of such straps are indicated, it will be understood that cross straps may also be employed or that a solid sheet of'material may be utilized in place of straps. Regardless of the material used, it must be relatively strong, such as cotton duck or the like, in view of the fact that these straps sustain the load during operation of the machine.

The straps 39 and 40 are hemmed at their upper ends as at 4| and 42 to receive split rings 43 and 44 threaded into the hems and from which they may be readily removed for the purpose of washing the same.

The hems of the straps with the enclosed rings are removably clamped to the side members and the intermediate strut 21 in any suitable fashion, but I have here illustrated the securing means as comprising inwardly bent hooks 46 which overlap the hems and which provide for easy and quick removal of the supporting straps from the cradle.

Depending from the cover I I are the polishing and cleaning cloths 41 and 48 which may be of any suitable material, but I have found that Canton flannel is a desirable cloth in that it is coarse on one side and carries fleece on the other side.

In the cleaning operation, the cloth 4? may have its coarse side in contact with the ball whereas the cloth 48 may be used as the polishing cloth having the fleece-lined side against the ball for imparting high polish thereto, although of course it is understood that the cloths may be reversed and that they may be turned inside out and secured to the cover ll so that both faces may be used before washing the same.

The cleaning and polishing cloths 4? and 48 are provided with hems 49 and 50 at their upper edges to receive split rings and 52 threaded therein in the same manner that the rings are carried by the straps 39 and 40.

The cloths 41 and 48 are removably secured to the cover H by inwardly-turned, depending hooks 53 and 54 as illustrated, so that it will be seen that upon raising the cover, the cloths 4? and 48 are swung out of the receptacle where they may be readily detached and the cloth removed from the split spring rings in order that the same may be cleaned.

As will be seen from Fig. 1, the cleaning cloths 41 and 48 rest on the supporting straps 39 and 49 respectively, and in order that the pockets formed by the cleaning cloths 41 and 48 may oscillate or swing with the cradle, the cloths 47 and 48 are provided with an excess of material adjacent the upper edges as at 55 and 56 which permits swinging of the pockets with the cradle,

because as the cradle rocks, it is obvious that the ends thereof will alternately approach and recede from the under surface of the cover. This excess of material permits this action while the load of the balls is at all times carried by the straps 39 and 40 on the cradle. In order to impart relative motion between the balls I5 and i6 and the cleaning and polishing cloths 41 and 48, the cradle 25 is connected to the pulley 23 in such a manner that during one portion of its cycle it will travel at a greater speed than at another portion of the same cycle, consequently due to the inertia of the balls, there will be relative slipping of the cloth under the balls.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the cradle 25 is in horizontal position and that the pivot 35 for the connecting rod 34 with the pulley 23 is offset from the axis of the shaft 22 the distance A, and that the operating stroke of the arm 36 may be varied by suitably adjusting the turn-buckle 38. the axis of the shaft 22 and the pivot 35 is offset relative to the axis of the trunnions 28. Consequently since the speed of the pulley 23 is constant, it will .be obvious that when the pulley 23 is rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow,

It will likewise be seen that the cradle 25 will be rocked to its limit while the pivot point 35 between the connecting rod 34 and pulley 23 is traveling less than when the cradle 25 is returned to its horizontal position. In its opposite rocking movement, however, it will be apparent that in its travel from horizontal back to horizontal position, the travel of the point is more than 180. Consequently it Will be seen that since the rocker arm must cover a greater distance in the same length of time, the rocking movement imparted to the cradle will be faster during this portion of the cycle than during the portion of the cycle in which the rocker arm travels less than 180. As the result of this, relative slipping takes place between the surface of the ball and the top surface of the cleaning and polishing cloths, it being understood, of course, that the bottom surfaces of the polishing and cleaning cloths which rest on the supporting straps 39 and 40 have no relative movement therewith.

In view of the fact that the cleaning and polishing cloths 41 and 48 are carried by the cover ll beneath the openings l3 and I4 respectively, the balls may be inserted through the openings or removed therefrom without danger of injury since none of the moving parts are exposed nor are they visible from the outside of the machine. Therefore, the apparatus is not only safe in operation, but is likewise pleasing in appearance.

In view of the fact that I prefer to operate the machine so that the cradle rocks approximately 300 times per minute, the polishing cloths would normally have to be securely fastened to the cover and could not be readily removed for washing. With the present construction, however, where the load is carried by the straps 39 and 40 and no load carried by the cleaning and polishing cloths 41 and 48, I am enabled to secured these cloths in the fashion shown for ready removal which not only increases the life of the machine but its efiiciency, since the cloths may be kept in perfect condition by frequent removal and cleansing.

I claim:

1. In a ball cleaning machine, a cabinet, a cloth pocket secured in said cabinet and shaped to partially surround a ball in said pocket, means independent of said pocket for supporting the load of the ball in the pocket and means for imparting oscillating movement to said pocket to cause relative movement between the cloth and the ball.

2. In a ball cleaning machine, a cabinet, a closure for said cabinet having an opening therein, a flexible pocket secured to said closure beneath said opening, and shaped to partially surround a ball in said pocket, means independent of said pocket for supporting the load of the ball in said pocket and means for imparting oscillating movement to the pocket to cause relative movement between the cloth and the ball.

3. In a ball cleaning machine, a cabinet, a cloth pocket secured in said cabinet and shaped to partially surround a ball in said pocket, means comprising an oscillating support below said pocket and engaging the bottom thereof to support the load of the ball in said pocket and means for oscillating said support and pocket to cause relative movement between the cloth and ball.

4. In a ball cleaning machine, a cabinet, a cradle mounted for oscillating movement within said cabinet comprising a frame, strap means secured to said frame and festooned therein to partially surround a ball to be cleaned, a cleaning and polishing pocket carried by said cabinet and receiving a ball to be cleaned, said pocket dependin into engagement with said festooned straps and being supported thereby and means for oscillating said cradle.

5. In a ball cleaning machine, a cabinet, a pivoted closure therefor having an opening therein through which a ball may be passed, a cleaning and polishing pocket shaped to partially surround a ball therein depending from said closure in a festoon into the cabinet and being movable with the closure to withdraw the pocket and ball from the cabinet, whereby said pocket may be inverted to discharge the ball therefrom.

6. In a ball cleaning machine, a cabinet, a pivoted closure therefor having an opening therein through which a ball may be passed, a cleaning and polishing pocket shaped to partially surround a ball therein depending from said closure in a festoon into the cabinet and being movable with the closure to withdraw the pocket and ball from the cabinet, said cleaning and polishing pocket being removably attached to said closure.

7. In a ball cleaning machine, a support, a cloth pocket adapted to receive and partially surround a ball placed therein secured to said support, said pocket comprising a cloth body having a hem at its edge, and a ring threaded through said hem, said cloth having a cleaning face on one side and a polishing face on the other, and means for removably supporting said pocket on said support so as to be reversible to present either face to the ball within the pocket.

8. A power driven ball cleaning machine comprising a horizontally extending rocking cradle, a ball-receiving cleaning and polishing pocket supported by said cradle and rockable therewith, means for rocking said cradle to cause relative movement between the pocket and ball to clean and polish the same, comprising a driven pulley having its axis in a vertical plane offset from a vertical plane through the aXis of oscillation of said cradle, a connecting rod pivoted to said pulley and a rocker arm pivotally secured to said connecting rod at one end and rigidly secured to said cradle at the other end at a point lying in the axis of oscillation of said cradle, the connection between said connecting rod and pulley lying in a plane parallel to and between the axis of the pulley and the axis of oscillation of said cradle when said cradle is in horizontal position.

9. In a ball cleaning machine, a cabinet, a cradle mounted for oscillating movement within said cabinet comprising a frame, straps secured to said frame and festooned therein to partially surround a ball positioned therein, a cleansing and polishing cloth ball-receiving pocket secured to a wall of said cabinet and depending into engagement with said festooned straps on the cradle, said pocket being of a greater depth than the distance between the festooned straps and said wall to provide excess material in said pocket when supported by said straps to permit oscillation thereof with the cradle and means for oscillating said cradle.

10. In a ball cleaning machine, a cabinet provided with a hinged closure having spaced openings therein, an oscillating cradle within said cabinet comprising side and end members and an intermediate transverse strut dividing the frame into two compartments lying beneath respective openings in the closure, flexible ball pockets secured to said closure beneath the marginal edges of said openings and depending into the compartments in said cradle, cross-straps secured to the sides, ends, and the intermediate member of said cradle and festooned therebetween to form supporting pockets for said ball pockets, and means for oscillating said cradle and ball pockets to cause slipping between the ball pockets and balls to clean and polish the same.

11. In a ball cleaning machine having a frame, a cleaning and polishing cloth pocket carried by said frame and shaped to partially surround a ball placed therein, and means for rocking said frame and pocket back and forth, said means including crank and pitman means operatively connected to said frame and pocket and being so constructed and arranged that the speed of rocking movement of the cloth pocket at one portion of its cycle of movement is greater than that of another portion of the same cycle to cause relative movement between the cloth and ball.

THOMAS A. NEWSWANGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,500,681 Mudra July 8, 1924 1,702,203 Day Feb. 12, 1929 1,842,291 Sample Jan. 19, 1932 1,847,352 McClatchie Mar. 1, 1932 2,060,168 Brock Nov. 10, 1936 2,195,303 Haskins Mar. 26, 1940 2,321,162 Sohm June 8, 1943 2,339,573 Knipp Jan. 18, 1944 2,405,344 Cloutier Aug. 6, 1946 2,420,988 Tholen May 20, 1947 2,493,681 Mayer Jan. 3, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7,955 Great Britain of 1914 

